Fur Trade goods

Before the HBC established a foothold on James Bay, people traded furs with their native allies and the French in return for European goods. They sought things that made their lives easier: brass cooking pots, iron axes and twine for fish nets. They also obtained materials, like beads and embroidery thread, to decorate theirclothing. Initially, because guns were heavy, unreliable and difficult to fix, people continued to use arrows and spears.

Recycling was common during the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s: The people reshaped metal into arrowheads, spear points and scrapers, and fashioned tinkling cones from brass pots to decorate clothing.